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ELECTION LAW, 

Passed at the Extra Session of General 
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ELECTION LAW, 

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SEP 23 J904 
D.ofO, 



JSJN A.CT 

To repeal and re-enact with aniendments sections 15 and 16 of 
Article 33 of the Code of Public General Laws of Maryland, 
title "Elections," as the said Article was enacted by the Act of 
1896, Chapter 202, entitled "An Act to repeal Article 33, entitled 
'Elections,' of the Code of Public General Laws of Maryland, 
and the several Acts and parts of Acts amendatory thereto, and 
to re enact the said Article 33 with amendments, and a% such 
Article was amended by Acts supplementary to said Act of 
1896, Chapter 202; and also to add a new section to relate to 
Registration of Voters, and to come in after section 25 of said 
Article 33, and to be known as Section 25 A ; also to repeal and 
re-enact with amendments Section 37 of said Article 33, relating 
to nominations of candidates for public office ; also to repeal and 
re-enact with amendments Sections 49, 50, 51 and 52 of said 
Article 33, sub-title 'Ballots and Ballot Boxes ; ' also to repeal 
and re-enact with amendments Sections 54, 61 and 62 of said 
Article 33, sub-title 'Elections ; ' also to repeal and re-enact with 
amendments Section QG of said Article 33, sub-title ' Count 
of Ballots;' also to repeal and re-enact with amendments Section 
114 A of said Article 33, sub-title 'Miscellaneous Provisions.'" 
Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland, 
That Sections 15 and 16 of Article 33 of the Code of Public 
General Laws of Maryland, title "Elections," sub-title "Registra- 
tion," as the said Article was enacted by the Act of 1896, Chapter 
202, be and the same are severally repealed and re-enacted so as to 
read as follows : 

15. The Supervisors of Election shall furnish to each Board of 
Registry, for the purpose of such registration, two registry books, 
which it shall be the duty of said officers of registration to protect 
and keep safe, and the said Supervisors shall designate two of said 
officers appointed from different political parties, each of whom 
shall be charged with the custody of one of said books during the 
intervals between the sessions of the Board of Registry until the 
return of said books to the Supervisors of Elections, as hereinafter 
provided. Such registry books shall be prepared substantially in 
the following form ; 



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In the counties a sufficient number of columns headed "voted" 
should be provided to last until the next general registration, and 
in all registry books one or more extra columns should be provided, 
to be used in case of special election. 

■ Registers of voters, precinct or district, 



ward, county (or city.) 



16. On Tuesday, seven weeks preceding the election to be held 
on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November, 1896, 
which shall occur after the enactment of this Article, each Board 
of Registry shall meet at the place designated by its Board of 
Supervisors of Elections, and shall proceed to make a general regis- 
tration of all the voters in its precinct or district, as the case may 
be. The proceedings of each Board of Registry shall be as follows : 
1. They shall open the registry in the City of Baltimore at nine 
o'clock A. M. and continue in session until nine o'clock P. M. on 
the Tuesday aforesaid. In the counties the hours of session shall 
be from 8 o'clock A. M. to 8 o'clock P. M. One of the officers 
of registration shall administer to all persons who shall personally 
apply to register, the following oath or affirmation : "You do 
solemnly swear (or affirm) that you will fully and truly answer all 
such questions as shall be put to you touching your place of resi- 
dence, name, place of birth, your qualifications as a voter, and 
your right as such to register and vote under the laws of this 
State." 2. The two officers of registration designated by the 
Supervisors to have the custody of the two registry books, or such 
of their colleagues as each of them may respectively ask to tempor- 
arily replace him in tha discharge of this duty, shall make the 
entries therein required by this Article, and the questions as to 
qualifications shall be asked by the other officers of said Board. 
3. The name and age of every applicant shall be entered in such 
registry books, and all the facts of his application shall be therein 
stated as herein provided, whether he be entitled to vote or not. 
If it shall be determined by the board that he is not a qualified 
voter in the precinct, then an entry shall be made in the appropri- 
ate column, "no," and a line shall be drawn in red ink through his 
name, and through all the other entries on the line on which his 
name is written, but so that the name and said other entries shall 
remain legible, and if qualified, an entry shall be made in the same 
column, "yes.'^ 4. Only persons constitutionally qualified to vote 
in the precinct at the next election, and personally applying for 
registration, shall be registered as qualified voters. 5. The head- 



ings to the registry books shall be so prepared that the registry 
shall be made alphabetical, according to the surname of each 
person applying, and so that the residence and postoffice address of 
such persons shall appear in the first column. The registers shall 
be ruled, and one name shall be written on each line, but no names 
shall be written between the lines. The entries shall be as follows : 
(A.) Under the column, residence and postoffice address, the name 
and number of the street, avenue or other location of the dwellings 
if there be a definite number, and if there shall not be a number, 
or if there shall be duplicate numbers, such clear and definite 
description of the place of such dwelling as shall enable it to be 
readily ascertained ; if there shall be more than one house at the 
number given by the applicant as his place of residence it shall be 
stated in which house he resides, and if there be more than one 
family residing in said house, either the floor on which he resides, 
or the number or location of the room or rooms occupied by him 
shall be stated, every floor below the level of the street or ground 
being designated as the basement, the floor upon or first above such 
level being designated as the first floor, and each floor above that as 
the second, or such other floor as it may be; in county precincts it 
shall only be necessary to give such general description as may be 
sufficient for identification. (B.) Under the column, "name," the 
name of the applicant, writing the surname first, and full given or 
Christian name after. (C.) Under the column, "age," the age of 
the applicant. (D.) Under the column, "nativity," the state, 
country, empire, kingdom or dominion, as the facts shall be. (E.) 
Under the column, "color," the words "white" or "colored," as the 
case may be. (F.) Under the sub-divisions of the general column, 
"term of residence," the period by day, month or year stated by 
the applicant. (G.) Under the column, "naturalized," the word 
"yes" or "no," or "native," as the fact may be. (H.) Under the 
column, "date of naturalization," the date of naturalization, if 
naturalized. Ko naturalization papers need be produced if a 
majority of the Board are satisfied that for three years next pre- 
ceding the applicant claiming to be naturalized has been a registered 
voter in this iState, and has actually voted on such previous regis- 
tration ; but they shall note his answers to the questions, when and 
in what court he was naturalized, and also in the column headed 
'"remarks," where and when he was so previously registered. (J.) 
Under the column, "court," the designation of the court in which, 
if naturalized, such naturalization was had. (K ) Under the 



column, "qualified voter," the word "yes," if the fact shall appear 
or be determined bj a majority of the Board of Registry, or the 
word "no," if such fact be not established to the satisfaction of a 
majority of the Board. (L.) Under the column, "Date of Appli- 
cation," the month, day and year when the applicant presented 
himself. (N.) After the answers of the applicant to the questions 
under the heads of each and all the above mentioned columns 
have been properly entered by the oflScers in his presence in 
both registers, and not until then, he shall be asked to sign 
his name upon the same line under the column "signature'' 
in each of them, and shall sign his name, if he can do so. If, 
however, he shall state his inability to do so, or declines to do so, 
the officers shall make the entry, " cannot write " or "declines," 
as the case may be, in the place for such signature. The Board of 
Registry shall be entitled to receive from the officers having 
custody thereof the last preceding registration books, for the pur- 
pose of comparison and assistance in identification, and if any one 
shall apply for registration, who appears in such former registry as 
disqualified, his name shall be entered in the new register, but he 
shall be marked "disqualified," unless such grounds of disquali- 
fication shall have been removed. At the end of the day's registry 
eaid officers shall compare the two registers so kept, and cause any 
errors in either of them to be corrected, by aid of the entries in 
the other, so as to make the same agree where there is any differ- 
ence between them. Each of the said officers having the custody 
of one of said registers shall then sign his name or initials imme- 
diately under the last name registered under each letter in the 
book kept by him, so that no new name came be added without 
discovery. The said Board of Registry shall keep, on blanks to be 
provided for that purpose by the Board of Supervisors of Elec- 
tions, an alphabetical list of the names, addresses and color of all 
persons registered, and a separate list of all persons refused regis- 
tration, and of all persons whose names are erased from the registry. 
In the City of Baltimore, at the end of each session, they shall 
deliver these lists to the police officer on duty at the registration 
office, and the list shall be delivered by the said officer to the 
Police Board, and by the Police Board to the Board of Super- 
visors of Elections, in the forenoon of the day following the said 
sitting. The Board of Supervisors for the City of Baltimore shall 
then cause such list to be printed in handbill form, in plain 
long primer type, and copies thereof posted within three days 



8 

after each session, in such manner that thej may be easily read, 
in at least ten prominent places in each precinct. Nothing in thi& 
Section 16, or in the preceding Section 15 as hereby re-enacted 
with amendments, shall affect the registration in the counties here- 
tofore made under this Article nor require the furnishing of new 
registry books in the counties, nor in Baltimore city for the supple- 
mental registration for the municipal election in 1901, but the 
registry books now in existence shall continue to be used as far as 
practicable and the provisions of said Sections 15 and 16 as 
hereby re-enacted shall be applied only to registrations hereafter 
to be made. 

Sec. 2. And be it further enacted. That a new Section be and 
and the same is hereby added to Article 33 of the Code of Public 
General Laws, title " Elections," sub-title " Eegistration," to come 
in after Section 25, and to be known as Section 25 A, such new 
Section to read as follows : 

25 A. All persons who, prior to the passage of this Act, shall 
have vacated or removed from, or have gone with their parents 
from the place of their actual abode, domicile, dwelling-place or 
habitation within this State, and shall have taken a domicile, 
dwelling-place, abode or habitation out of this State, shall be con- 
clusively presumed to have thereby intended to abandon their 
legal residence in this State, and to have surrendered their right to 
registration as legal voters in this State, unless within thirty days 
after the passage of this Act they shall go in person before the 
Clerk of the Circuit Court for the county from which they shall 
have so removed, or before the Clerk of the Superior Court of 
Baltimore City, if their removal shall have been from said city^ 
and make and acknowledge before such Clerk an affidavit that 
when they so removed they did not intend to change their legal 
residence within the State, but that they had a fixed purpose to 
return at a definite time, and that they intend to return to this 
State and take up their actual domicile and habitation therein, on 
or before six months next preceding the Tuesday after the first 
Monday of November next succeeding the making of such affidavit. 
The form of such affidavit shall be substantially as follows : State 

of Maryland, County or City of Baltimore, set: I 

hereby certify that on this day of , 

19 , before the subscriber, Clerk of the Circuit Court for t- 



, Countyv(ar of the Superior Court of Baltimore City), 

personally appeared and made oath or affirmation in 



due form of law, that up to the day of , or there- 
abouts, he was an actual resident and inhabitant of the 

election district of County, or of the Precinct 

of the Ward of the Legislative District of Balti- 
more City, that on or about the day of he 

removed from his said domicile or place of residence in said county 
or city, and took up his domicile, habitation, dwelling place or 
abode out of the State of Maryland, to wit (in here insert minute 
and definite description of the place of abode), that when he so 
removed out of the State he had a fixed and definite purpose to 
return thereto by a certain time, and that he did not intend, by 
such removal, to change his residence within the State, or to return, 
or not to return to this State, as circumstances thereafter might 
make expedient ; sworn to before me (signature of clerk, seal of 
court) ; and unless the persons respectively making such afiidavits 
shall actually return to this State, and shall actually take up their 
abode, domicile or habitation therein, six months before the Toes- 
day after the first Monday in November next succeeding the 
making of said afiidavit, they shall be conclusively presumed to 
have lost their legal residence therein, and shall not be entitled to 
registration therein as legal voters, and the officers of registration 
shall strike off their names from the registry if they be entered 
thereon ; and after the passage of this Act all persons who shall 
vacate and remove from the place of their actual domicile, abode, 
dwelling place or habitation within this State, and shall take up a 
domicile, abode, dwelling place or habitation out of this State, 
shall be conclusively presumed to have lost their residence in this 
State, and shall, in conseqence thereof, become disqualified to vote 
unless at or about the time of such removal, or within ten days 
thereafter, they shall go in person before the Clerk of the Circuit 
Court for the county from which they shall so remove, or before 
the Clerk of the Superior Court of Baltimore City, if such removal 
be from said city, and shall make and acknowledge before him an 
affidavit declaring that notwithstanding such removal from their 
domicile, abode, dwelling place or habitation they do not intend 
thereby to change their legal residence, but that they have a fixed 
and definite purpose to return to this State on or before six monthjs 
preceding the next succeeding election in November. The form 
of such affidavit shall be as follows : State of Maryland, City (or 

County) of ~ set : I hereby certify that on this day of 

— ^^ before the subscriber, Clerk of the Circuit Court for 



10 

County, (or Superior Court of Baltimore City) personally appeared 

and made oath (or affirmation) in due form of law, that on or 

about the day of he vacated and removed from his 

habitation, dwelling place, domicile or abode, in the Precinct 

of the Election District of County (or of the Ward 

in the Legislative District of Baltimore City) and took up his 

abode out of the State. (Here insert particular designation of such 
new abode by election district, precinct, ward, street and number 
whenever practicable) ; that notwithstanding such removal he does 
not intend thereby to change his residence, but that he has a fixed 
and definite purpose to return to this State on or before six months 
preceding the next succeeding election in November ; sworn before 
me (signature of Clerk, seal of Court) ; and if the persons making 
such affidavits, shall fail so to return and take up their actual 
abode, domicile, dwelling place and habitation in this State on or 
before six months next preceding such November election, they 
shall be conclusively presumed to have abandoned such declared 
intention, and shall thereupon become disqualified to vote in this 
State, and the officers of registration shall refuse to register them 
as qualified voters, or shall strike off their names from the registry 
if their names be entered thereon. The clerk before whom such 
affidavit shall be made, shall retain, index and record the same, and 
shall be entitled to demand and receive for each affidavit sworn 
the sum of thirty cents, and for indexing and recording the 
affidavit and acknowledgment thereto the same compensation as 
allowed by law for indexing and recording deeds ; such costs to be 
paid to said clerks by the County Commissioners and Mayor and 
City Council of Baltimore, respectively. Such affidavits shall not 
be admissible in evidence as evidence of the right of the persons 
making the same to registration unless they are recorded within 
five days from the date of the acknowledgments thereto, and a 
duly certified copy thereof shall be receivable in evidence in the 
same manner as a certified copy of a deed. False swearing in any 
of such affidavits shall be deemed to be perjury, and shall be 
punishable as perjury is punishable by the Code of Public General 
Laws, Article twenty -seven, title "Crimes and Punishments," sub- 
title "Perjury." Said officers of registration shall require the 
production of such affidavits, duly recorded, or a duly certified 
copy thereof in all cases where they shall have reason to suspect 
that the person applying to be registered as a qualified voter has 
lost his residence by reason of his removal from the State as here- 



11 

inbefore mentioned ; and they may also in such cases put any ques- 
tion which they may deem proper to such applicant concerning the 
place where he dwelt in the county or legislative district before 
such removal out of the State, his occupation before such removal 
and since the time when he so removed, and when he returned, and 
all other pertinent facts and circumstances touching the right of 
such person to be registered, and they may require the truth of the 
auswers of all persons to such questions to be corroborated by 
independent evidence if in their discretion they shall think proper, 
and if in answer to their question, or upon testimony produced 
before them, it shall appear to their satisfaction that the person 
applying to be registered had left the State without any intention 
of returning, or with the intention of returning at some indefinite 
time in the future, he shall not be entitled to be registered as a 
legal voter ; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to 
United States Senators and Representatives in Congress from 
Maryland. Any officer of registration who shall fail or refuse to 
perform the duty imposed upon him by this Section shall be sub- 
ject to the penalties imposed by Section 88 of this Article. 

Sec. 3. And be it further enacted. That Section 37 of said 
Article 33, title " Elections," sub-title " Nominations," be and the 
same is hereby repealed and re-enacted with amendments, so as to 
read as follows : 

37. All nominations made by such convention or primary meet- 
ings shall be certified as follows : The certificate of nominatioa 
shall be in writing, shall contain the name of each person nomi- 
nated, his residence, his business, his address and the office for which 
he is nominated, and shall designate, in not more than five words, the 
party or principle which such convention or primary meeting repre- 
sents. It shall be signed by the presiding officer and secretary of such 
convention, why shall add to their signatures their respective places 
of residence, their business and business address, and acknowledge 
the same before an officer duly authorized to take acknowledgments, 
who shall append a certificate of such acknowledgment thereto. 
If the nomination is by means of a primary election, the certificate 
shall be signed and acknowledged by the person or persons whose 
duty it may be, by party usage, to declare the result of such elec- 
tion in the manner prescribed for a nomination by a convention, 
but no party emblem or device of any kind shall be added to said 
certificate ; and if any such emblem or device should be added, it 



12 

shall not be printed npon the ballot by the Secretary of State or 
any of the Board of Supervisors of Election. 

Sec. 4. And be it further enacted, That Sections 49, 50, 51 and 
52, of said Article 33, title ^'Elections," sub-title "Ballots and 
Ballot Boxes," be and the same are hereby severally repealed and 
re-enacted with amendments, so as to read as follows : 

49. It shall be the duty of the Board of Supervisors of Elections 
of each county and of the City of Baltimore to provide ballots for 
every election for public officers held under this Articie in which 
any voters within the county or said city shall participate, and 
cause to be printed on the ballot the name of every candidate whose 
name has been certified to or filed with the proper officers in the 
manner herein provided by such political party organization or 
body of individuals ; but the said supervisors shall not be required 
to print any name upon a ballot if such name shall not have been 
certified to them at least six days before election day. Each ballot 
shall contain a statement of evey constitutional amendment or 
other question to be submitted to the vote of the people at any 
election. Ballots other than those printed by the respective Boards 
of Supervisors of elections, according to the provisions of this 
Article, shall not be cast or counted in any election except as 
hereinafter provided. Nothing in this Article contained shall pre- 
vent any voter from writing on his ballot and marking in the 
proper place the name of any person other than those already 
printed for whom he may desire to vote for any office, and such 
votes shall be counted the same as if the name of such person had 
been printed upon the ballot and marked by the voter. Any voter 
may take with him into the polling place any written or printed 
memorandum or paper to assist him in marking or preparing his 
ballot, except a fac- simile of the ballot to be voted. Ballots shall 
be printed and in possession of the Supervisors of Elections at least 
four days before election day, and a correct list of the names of the 
candidates thereon with the designation of the offices for which 
the persons named thereon are candidates shall be furnished on 
demand by the Supervisors to the candidates or their authorized 
agents. If any mistakes be discovered, it shall be the duty of said 
Supervisors to correct the same without delay, and if said Super- 
visors shall decline or refuse to make correction, then upon the 
sworn petition of any qualified voter who would have the right to 
vote for such candidate at the approaching election, the Circuit 
Court for any county, or one of the Judges of the Supreme Bench 



13 

of Baltimore City, may, by order, require said Supervisors of 
Elections to correct such error or to show cause why such error 
should not be corrected. 

50. The form and arrangement of the ballots shall be as 
follows: All ballots shall contain the names of every candidate 
whose nomination for any office specified in the ballot has been 
certified to and filed according to the provisions of this Article 
and not withdrawn in accordance herewith. The names of candi- 
dates for every office shall, except in the case of candidates for 
Presidential Electors, be arranged alphabetically according to 
their surname under the designation of the office. To 
the right of the name of each candidate upon the official bal- 
lot, and immediately to the left of the square opposite the name of 
the candidate and in line therewith, shall be added the designation 
of the party or principle which the candidate represents, as is duly 
contained in the certificate of nomination or nomination papers. 
To the name of each candidate for State office or candidate for 
Congress shall be added the name of the county or city in which 
the candidate resides. Ballots shall be so printed as to give to 
each voter a clear opportunity to designate by a cross (X) in a 
square at the right of the name of each candidate, and at the right 
of each question his choice of candidates and his answer to such 
question. If a candidate is named for the same office on two or 
more certificates of nominations his name shall be printed on the 
ballot but once, and to the right of the name of said candidate 
shall be added the names of each of the parties, or principles 
which the candidate represents. When the name of a political 
party is given in connection with the name of a candidate nomi- 
nated, as provided in Section 38 of this Article, it shall be stated 
on the ballot to the right of the name of the candidate ; but if 
there shall have been any nomination for the same office by a con- 
vention or primary election claiming the same party name, duly 
certified as hereinbefore provided, the word "Independent" shall 
precede the party name, if the candidate is nominated under the 
provisions of the said Section 38, to be printed to the right of the 
name of each candidate, except presidential electors. If the same 
party name shall be claimed on behalf of nominations made by 
more than one convention or primary election and duly certified 
as aforesaid, the officers by whom the ballot is to be prepared, or a 
thajority of them, shall determine which nominees are justly 
entitled to the party name, and the word "Independent" shall pre- 



14 

cede the party came of the other nominee. The names of candi- 
dates for the office of Electors of President and Yice-President of 
the United States shall be arranged in groups, as presented in the 
several certificates of nomination papers, and the several groups 
shall be arranged in such order of the surnames of the candidates 
for President as the several Boards of Supervisors shall prescribe 
in the City of Baltimore and in the several counties respectively. 
If candidates for Presidential electors are nominated at large and 
for the several Congressional Districts, the name and place of 
residence of the candidates at large shall be put at the head of 
each group, and the names of the other candidates with their 
places of residence, including the numbers of the Congressional 
District in which they reside shall follow in numerical order. 
The surname of the candidates of each political party for the office 
of President and Vice-President with the party-name at the right 
of the surname shall be placed above the group of candidates for 
electors of such party. There shall be left at the jight of the 
surnames of the candidates for President and Yice-President so 
formed as to include both names and to the right of the name of 
each elector a sufficient clear square in which each voter may 
designate by a cross (X) his choice for electors. All candidates 
for office shall, as far as possible, be placed in one column, bat 
when the names to be printed upon the ticket are over thirty-six, 
then another column shall be added in which names shall be 
printed, and when two or more columns are used the same number 
of names shall, as far as possible, be printed in each column. A 
Constitutional Amendment, or any question to be submitted to the 
popular vote, shall be printed in a separate column to follow imme- 
diately after the names of the candidates. 

51. If at any election there be a constitutional question, or any 
other question to be submitted to the popular vote, the said ques- 
tion shall be placed upon said ballot in the form following : "For 
Constitutional Amendment," "Against Constitutional Amend- 
ment," " For Proposition," "Against Proposition." and said 
respective questions shall be placed in a column, as hereinbefore 
mentioned, so that the same shall form a parallelogram or space 
where the votes may clearly indicate, in the way hereinafter pointed 
out, whether he shall wish to cast his ballot for or against the Con- 
stitutional Amendment, or proposition, or propositions submitted. 

62. Said ballots shall be printed upon plain white printing 
paper of ordinary book weight, in black ink, and in clear, legible 



15 

type, and in printing, the names of the candidates respectively, 
shall be of imifornn size, style and appearance throughout the 
ballot, and type used in printing the names of the parties which 
said candidates respectively represent, shall be uniform in size, 
style and appearance throughout the ballot, such uniformity of 
type and printing to be fixed and determined in the City of Balti- 
more by the Board of Supervisors of Elections of that city, and in 
the several counties by the respective Boards of Supervisors of 
Elections thereof. On the back and outside shall be printed the 
words " Official Ballot For," followed by the designation of the 
polling place for which it is prepared, the date of election, and a 
facsimile of the signature of the President of the Board of Super, 
visors of Elections by whom the ballot has been prepared. Said 
ballot shall be printed on the same leaf, with a detachable stub or 
coupon one inch high and three inches wide, above the upper right 
hand corner of the ballot, and binding on the upper edge thereof* 
but separated therefrom by line running along the entire width of 
said coupon. Upon said coupon shall be printed the words 
''Voter's J^ame," with a line drawn thereunder, for writing said 
name, and under the said line the words "J^umber of Yoter" 
followed by a blank space for the insertion of number. Before 
distributing, said ballots shall be so folded in marked creases, that 
no part of the marks or printing thereon, excepting that upon the 
back, and outside, and that upon the detachable stub or coupon, 
shall be visible, and so that the folded ballots shall be of uniform 
width and length, and of proper width to be deposited in the 
ballot-boxes. All ballots when printed shall be folded as above 
provided, and fastened together in convenient numbers in pack- 
ages, books or blocks, so that each ballot may be detached and 
removed separately. The said Boards of Supervisors of Elections, 
respectively, shall, four days at least prior to the day of any elec- 
tion in their respective counties and in said city, cause to be con- 
spicuously and securely posted in one or more public places in 
each voting precinct of their respective counties, or of said city, 
accurate sample copies of the ballots to be used in such district or 
precinct at the then approaching election ; such sample copies shall 
be printed on light cardboard or heavy sized paper of considerably 
magnified dimensions, and one of them at least shall be placed 
upon the exterior of each building in which the polls will be held, 
so that the same can be readily seen and examined by persons pass- 
ing on the street or road. 



16 

Sec. 5. And be it further enacted, That Sections 54, 61 and 62, 
of said Article 33, title " Elections," be and the same are hereby 
severally repealed and re-enacted, with amendments, so as to read 
as follows : 

54. The Supervisors of Elections of Baltimore City shalldeliver 
to the Board of Police Commissioners of Baltimore City, not more 
than three days, and not less than one day, preceding the election, 
the two registers of every precinct of said city, together with the 
cards of instruction and ballot-box therefor, the latter being locked, 
with the key in the lock, and containing one of the sealed 
packages of ballots for said precinct, the specimen ballots, the 
two poll books, and all blanks, indelible pencils and stationery 
required for such election. And the said Board of Police 
Commissioners shall receipt therefor, and shall deliver or cause the 
same to be delivered to the Judges of Election of the respective 
precincts at or before the opening of the polls on the day of elec- 
tion. Said Boards of Supervisors shall keep a record of the time 
when such deliveries are made by them and of the particulars 
thereof. 

The Supervisors of Elections of the several counties shall not 
more than three days prior to every election, and not less than one, 
make up into sealed packages for each precinct the two registers 
for said precinct, together with the cards of instruction and the 
key to the ballot box for such precinct, having first placed in the 
ballot box one of the sealed packages of ballots for said precincts, 
the specimen ballots, the two poll books, and all blanks, indelible 
pencils and stationery required for such elections, and shall deliver 
or cause the same to be delivered to the Judges of Election of the 
respective precincts at or before the end of the day preceding the 
day of election. 

Said Boards of Supervisors of Elections of the several counties 
shall also at the same time, that is to say, at or before the end of 
the day preceding the day of election, deliver to the Judges of 
Election of the several precincts or districts the other sealed 
package of tickets mentioned in section 53. Said Boards of Super- 
visors of Elections shall in like manner keep a record of the time 
when such deliveries are made by them, and of the particulars 
thereof. Said several Boards of Supervisors in the counties are 
hereby respectively authorized and directed to make adequate pro- 
vision for the performance of the duty imposed on them by this 
section, and the County Commissioners of the several counties shall 
pay the expenses incurred in the performance thereof. 



17 

Should said Boards of Supervisors fail or neglect to make the 
delivery by the time prescribed by this section, it shall be the duty 
of the judge, designated beforehand by the Supervisors, to take 
charge of the ballot box, as provided in section 70 of this Article, 
to immediately send to the Supervisors therefor, and to obtain the 
same as soon as practicable, in order that tlie election may be duly 
held, the cost hereby incurred to be paid by the County Commis- 
sioners as a part of the election expenses. For failure or neglect 
on the part of the Supervisors of Elections, the Board of Police 
Commissioners, or any person employed by them respectively, in 
the discharge of the duties required of them by this section, or 
said judges, or any person employed by them to perform the duties 
imposed upon them respectively, by this section, they shall respect- 
ively be subject to indictment for a misdemeanor, and upon con- 
viction thereof, shall be subject to the penalties prescribed by 
Section 88, of this Article. 

61. At every election each qualified voter shall be entitled to 
receive one official ballot. The person applying therefor to the 
judge of election holding the ballots shall give his name and resi- 
dence, and the said judge shall repeat the same in a loud and 
distinct voice ; and if such name be found upon the register by the 
judges having the custody thereof, they shall repeat the said name, 
and the voter shall be allowed to enter the space enclosed by the 
guard-rail, and the judge holding the ballots, having first written 
in ink the voter's name and number upon the coupon attached to 
one of them, shall deliver said ballot to the voter after having 
likewise written in ink his own name or initials upon the back 
thereof, and the two clerks of election shall at the same time enter 
the name of the voter upon their poll books. Upon receipt of his 
ballot the voter shall forthwith, and without leaving the enclosed 
space, retire alone to one of the booths or compartments and pre- 
pare his ballot by marking with an indelible pencil after the 
name of every person or persons for whom he intends to 
vote and to the right thereof, in the blank space provided 
therefor, a cross — for example X — and in case of a question sub- 
mitted to a vote of the people by marking likewise in the appro- 
priate space a cross-mark (X) against the answer which he 
desires to give. Not more than one voter shall be permitted to 
occupy any one booth or compartment at one time, and no voter 
shall remain in or occupy a booth longer than may be necessary 
to prepare his ballot, and in no event longer than seven minutes in 
case all such booths or compartments are in use, and other voters 



18 

are waiting to occupy the same. Before leaving the voting booth 
/ or compartment the voter shall fold his ballot without displaying 
/ the marks thereon, and in the same way it was folded when 
I received by him, and he shall keep the same so folded until he has 
I voted, and so that the signature or initials of the judge from whom 
I he received it, and the name and number written on the coupon 
^ thereof, but nothing else thereon may be seen. He shall forthwith 
hand his said ballot to the judge at the ballot-box, and shall give 
his name and residence, and upon his being identified as the person 
who received said ballot, the judge shall deposit his ballot in the 
box, having first detached therefrem its coupon, which he shall 
then string upon a cord or wire to be provided for the purpose, and 
the said voter shall forthwith leave the enclosed space. The 
judges having charge of the registers shall then in the column 
therein headed "Yoted," in the same line with the name of the 
voter mark the word '"Yoted," or the letter *'Y." 'No ballot with- 
out the indorsement of the name or initials of the judge thereon, 
as hereinbefore provided, shall be deposited in said ballot-box, 
but if deposited, shall be counted for the purpose of ascertain- 
ing the number thereof, and the judges shall in ink mark on 
the back thereof the word "Counted," and indorse their names. 

63. Assistance in marking their ballots shall be given to voters 
who shall declare, under oath, to the judges of election that by 
reason of blindness or physical disability they are unable without 
assistance to mark their ballot. Upon making and filing with the 
judges such affidavit the voter shall retire to one of said booths 
with the two clerks, and then and there one of said clerks, in the 
presence of the other, shall mark the ballot as such voter shall 
direct, the voter himself naming one by one the candidates for 
whom he desires his ballot to be marked and not indicating the 
candidates by a general designation as the candidates of any one 
political party. The ballots shall not be read to such voter, nor 
shall any suggestion of any kind be made by either of said two 
clerks to show him as to how his ballot is to be marked, but the 
only assistance which it shall be lawful for the clerks to give him 
is to mark the ballot as he, without prompting or suggestion from 
them, or either of them shall direct, but no ballot shall be marked 
under this section until a majority of the judges of election shall 

I be satisfied of the truth of the fact stated in such affidavits. 
Voters who are not disabled by blindess or physical injury from 
: marking their ballots shall not be entitled to receive assistance in 



19 

marking them. And with the exception in favor of persons blind 
or incapable from physical injury of marking their ballots without 
assistance, no distinction or discrimination in the matter of assist- 
tance in marking ballots shall be made for or against any duly 
registered voter for any other cause whatever. 

Sec. 6. And be it further enacted, That Section 66 of said 
Article 33, title "Elections," sub-title "Count of Ballots," be and 
the same is hereby repealed and re-enacted with amendments, so as 
to read as follows : 

66 The judges shall then open the ballot box and count and 
announce the whole number of ballots in the box. They shall 
reject any ballots which are deceitfully folded together, and any 
ballots which do not have endorsed thereon the name or initials of 
the judge who held the ballots. If the voter has marked more 
names than there are persons to be elected to an office, or if there 
shall be any mark on the ballot other than the cross mark in a square 
opposite to the name of a candidate, or other than the name or 
names of any candidate written by the voter on the ballot as pro- 
vided in Section 49, his ballot shall not be counted. Ballots not 
counted for such defects shall be marked "Defective'' on the back 
thereof, and shall be wrapped in a separate package and returned to 
the ballot-box as hereinafter directed. No vote shall be counted for 
any candidate opposite whose name no cross mark shall be placed. 
They shall open the ballots, and all of them shall be canvassed 
eparately by one of the judges sitting between two other judges, 
which judge shall call out each name and the office for which it is 
designated, and the other judges looking at the ballot at the same 
time, and the clerks making tally of the same. When all the 
ballots have been canvassed in this manner, the election clerks shall 
compare their tallies together and ascertain total number of votes 
received by each candidate, and when they agree upon the numbers, 
one of them shall announce in a loud voice to the judges the aggre- 
gate number of votes received by each candidate. If requested 
by any watcher or challenger present at any canvass, it shall be the 
duty of the judges and each of them to exhibit to such watcher or 
challenger any ballots cast, fully opened or in such condition and 
manner that he may fully read and examine the same, but the 
judges shall not allow any ballot to be taken from their hands. As 
the ballots are counted they shall be strung upon a strong twine. 



20 

Sec. 7. And be it farther enacted, That Section 114 A of said 
Article 33, title "Elections," sub-title "Miscellaneous Provisions," 
be and the same is hereby repealed and re-enacted so as to read as 
follows : 

114 A. At least thirty days before every State election the 
Attorney-General shall prepare full instructions for the guidance 
of the voters of such election as to obtaining ballots, as to the 
manner of marking them, and as to obtaining new ballots in place 
of those accidently destroyed, with such other instructions as shall 
in his opinion be necessary and proper, said instructions shall be 
furnished by the Secretary of State to the several Boards of Super- 
visors of Elections, who shall, respectively, cause the same together 
with copies of Sections 61, 62 and 63 of this Article, to be printed 
in large, clear type, on separate cards, to be called "Cards of 
Instruction," and said Boards of Supervisors shall furnish twelve 
of the same with ballots for use in each election precinct. They 
shall also cause to be printed on light cardboard or heavy sized 
paper, ten or more copies of the form of the ballot provided for 
each voting place at each election therein, of a considerably magni- 
fied size, which shall be called "Specimen Ballots," and the same 
shall be furnished with the other ballots prepared for each voting 
place. On the morning of said election, the said Supervisors of 
Elections shall cause to be conspicuously posted in each polling 
place, said cards of instruction and largely magnified specimen 
ballots, and one of said cards of instruction shall be affixed in each 
booth or voting compartment, and the said specimen ballots shall 
be conspicuously displayed in said polling room and on the outside 
of the building wherein said voting shall take place. Not less than 
three of said cards and three of said specimen ballots shall be 
posted outside of the guard-rails, and not less than three of each of 
same shall be securely and conspicuously posted on the outside of 
the building in which the polls are held, before the balloting begins, 
in such position that tiie same may be easily examined by the 
public. 

Sec. 8. And be it enacted. That all Acts or parts of Acts incon- 
sistent with the provisions of this Act be and the same are hereby 
repealed, and this Act shall take effect from the date of its passage. 

Approved March 21, 1901. 



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